Ask the Author–How Well Do You Fit the Author Stereotype?

I made it. I wasn’t sure if I would, but I did. Until I figure out differently, the first week of the month is an “Ask the Author” post. Here is the question for this week. How well do you fit the author stereotype?

If you go with the stereotypes I’ve heard the most, in order to fit, I would have to be a heavy drinking, coffee addicted, extreme introvert with depression, and a troubled, tragic past. Oh, and also eccentric at best and downright crazy at worst. Of course, most writers fit only one or two of these things at the most, and many probably don’t fit any at all. Where do I fit in? Let’s look at it one thing at a time.

• Heavy drinker: Nope, never touched the stuff.
• Coffee addicted: Believe it or not, I’ve never had coffee either.
• Extreme introvert: This one is harder to answer. Sometimes I’m introverted, sometimes I’m not. I love to be around other people most of the time. I love to listen to others talking and telling stories. I love to have company and invite people over. And, believe it or not, I even enjoy public speaking (probably for the same reason some people enjoy skydiving or bungee jumping). However, I’m also slightly terrified of having one-on-one conversations with people I don’t know very well. I tend to be on the shy side. I’ve heard the term ambivert for people who are between introverted and extroverted, but I’m not really in between. Rather, I have strong qualities of each. I guess I might say I’m an introverted extrovert.
• Depression: I get the blues once in a while, but I’m usually a pretty happy person.
• Tragic, troubled past: Quite the opposite, actually. I had a pretty perfect childhood. Eccentric or crazy: Probably. The extent of eccentricity or insanity depends on who you ask. Some may not even notice it. I can be pretty good at hiding it when I want to.

At any rate, I’m hardly the brooding writer who locks himself away from the rest of the world to agonize over every new word in a story. I write for fun, and my number one objective is for the reader to have fun reading my books. That is the kind of writer I am, stereotypes or not.

• What stereotypes have you heard about writers? Do you have any stereotypes people might place on you that you don’t fit?